As a health care provider, you know that clear, open communication with your clients is critical.  If your LEP (Limited English Proficient) clients don't fully understand discharge instructions, insurance information, consent forms, applications, and other written materials, you may be putting them - as well as yourself and your organization - at risk.

When you make an effort to communicate with your clients in their primary language, the benefits are enormous. You will improve understanding of insurance and plan guidelines; reduce medical misunderstandings, billing errors and potential malpractice charges; and provide the opportunity for more positive health outcomes across the board.

At Avantpage, we specialize in translation for the healthcare industry, and work closely with some of today's largest healthcare organizations.

• We translate into more than 150 languages
• Our work is accurate, culturally sensitive and consistent
• We use state-of-the-art web-based translation technology
• We take steps to ensure our services remain affordable and cost-effective
• We work with you to create a translation program that fits your needs, budget and compliance requirements

To discover how Avantpage can provide affordable, accurate, high-quality translation services for you, click here.  To get a quote for translation services, click here.

Don't let inaccuracies in translation hinder the effectiveness of your message, drive off potential business, or compromise patient care.

In response to the current regulatory climate, many companies are in need of translation services for the first time.

Avantpage has responded with a report on 10 industry "best practices" that will help any business navigate the process of obtaining, coordinating, and evaluating translation services. These best practices are especially relevant for companies in the healthcare industry.

Because Avantpage realizes how important it is to get things right from the beginning, included are tips for getting started, questions businesses need to ask at the start of the process, as well as potential pitfalls to avoid.

The complete report can be downloaded here. 

Health Benefit Exchange Gives Uninsured Consumers Access to High-Quality, Affordable Health Care

In accordance with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, passed in March of 2010, the California Health Benefit Exchange is slated to go into effect on January 1, 2014. The Health Benefit Exchange is essentially a health plan "marketplace" where uninsured individuals and small businesses can shop for and purchase high-quality health insurance. Individuals with low to moderate incomes, and small businesses of less than 100 employees will be eligible for federal tax credits and cost-sharing subsidies previously only available to those with employer-based heath insurance.

Through the California Health Benefit Exchange, consumers will be able to shop for and purchase health insurance on the private market. They will gain greater purchasing power due to a more stable risk pool, increased competition among insurers, and the ability to "comparison shop" for healthcare.

The Exchange will operate as a web-based service that acts as a "portal" for numerous health plans, enabling health care plan shoppers to compare coverage, offerings, rates, services and more. The Exchange will provide clear, easy-to-understand information to consumers through their website, which will offer standardized, detailed information about the plans, access to health plan experts, and a toll-free number to call for more information.

If you would like to learn more about the California Health Benefit Exchange and its impact on translation needs, download our Special Report. Although the Exchange will not go into effect until 2014, many health care organizations are already laying the groundwork for ramped-up translation efforts utilizing numerous threshold languages.  Starting the translation process now will ensure that LEP healthcare consumers have the information they need to make informed decisions once they are using the Health Benefit Exchange website.

Today, LinkedIn announced a major milestone for its site: it's surpassed 100 million users. Congratulations!

Avantpage invites you to link with us on LinkedIn.....

Our Healthcare Language Assistance Group on LinkedIn is a powerful resource for healthcare professionals - providing answers, assistance, discussion forums, up-to-the-minute information and more for professionals looking to bridge cultural and linguistic barriers within the healthcare industry.

We bring together health plan administrators, regulators, patient advocates and linguistic experts to collaborate on the myriad challenges healthcare professionals face every day regarding language assistance.

Make new connections, get your questions answered, and expand your professional network

When you join Avantpage's Healthcare Language Assistance group on LinkedIn, need-to-know information, in-depth discussion, industry updates and more are all just one quick click away.  This group is dedicated to helping you:

• Get swift answers to federal and state compliance questions
• Address language translation issues
• Facilitate document and media preparation
• Examine cultural concerns in the healthcare sector
• Exchange vital information with your peers
• Meet and connect with other industry professionals
•  Stay on top of the latest industry changes and revisions

Why LinkedIn? 
Nothing beats LinkedIn for reaching experts, leaders and innovators in today's business world.  LinkedIn was created by professionals, for professionals, and is an excellent resource for connecting with health care industry leaders who share the same questions and concerns you do. 

Join Us Today
Go to www.LinkedIn.com, and search groups for "Healthcare Language Assistance."  Click to join - and connect online with us today!

For the first time, Avantpage will be attending the annual Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) conference, held at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, February 20 - 24, 2011.

We are excited to be a part of an exhibition of this size and scope, and are looking forward to offering our translation solutions, expertise and experience to today's top healthcare IT providers. As longtime experts in the healthcare translation industry, Avantpage is poised to deliver our unique blend of flexibility, speed, quality and expertise to a new roster of healthcare clients.

Accurate translation in threshold and other languages is a critical component of the healthcare industry. Integrating translation services, IT and Management Systems is vital to the continued growth and success of hospitals, urgent care facilities, hospice providers, emergency care centers, HMOs, health insurance providers and many others in the health industry.

On average, 20 to 25% of all patients or insureds in the U.S. do not speak English at home. Translated content helps to improve patient health literacy at all levels, and allows our healthcare system to support client needs regardless of language and ethnicity.

Why choose Avantpage? At Avantpage, we've fine-tuned our translation capabilities to reflect the very latest in translation technology, healthcare compliance requirements and healthcare strategy and implementation plans.

• Our focus on the healthcare industry has given us a leading edge over other translation firms: We're experienced, prepared and fully qualified to handle healthcare translation projects of any size and complexity.
• We're easy to do business with! Our web-based translation platform offers accessibility, flexibility and customization - all at a very cost-effective price point.
• Although our data and translation processes are highly automated, we've never lost sight of the "human element" of translation. You'll deal with project managers, translators and support staff who always have time to answer questions, address concerns and talk you through the project process.

We are looking forward to connecting with IT and Management Systems experts in a variety of healthcare-related fields at the upcoming HIMSS conference. Our current clients include some of the largest integrated managed care accounts and hospitals in the industry, and we'd love to touch base with interested prospects and talk a little further about our menu of translation services and solutions.

We look forward to seeing you in Orlando!

There are approximately 47 million people in the United States who speak a language other than English. Effective communication is critical to safe, quality health care, yet many health care organizations fall short when it comes to caring for Limited English Proficient (LEP) patients.

According to a study conducted by the International Journal for Quality in Health Care, language barriers in hospitals were shown to increase risks to patient safety. Data was collected on adverse events affecting both LEP and English-speaking patients. The study showed that when adverse events were tracked in both groups, 49.1% of those experienced by LEP patients involved physical harm, while only 29.5% of adverse events experienced by English-speaking patients did. Of the patients who experienced physical harm, 46.8 % of LEP patients were rated at levels of "moderate temporary harm to death" while only 24.4% of the English speakers had the same harm ratings. 52.4% of the LEP patients' adverse events were related to communication errors, while 35.9% of the English speakers were communication-related.

To rectify this situation, the Joint Commission has created new communication and language standards for health care organizations that will go into effect in January 2011. Hospitals seeking accreditation will need to comply with these new standards, which include providing proficient in-person or phone interpreters; ensuring that written documentation (forms, instructions, signage, etc.) is properly translated into appropriate languages; and that caregivers and health professionals are trained in culturally sensitive communication among different ethnic groups.

To find out more about  the Joint Commission and the standards, call 877-ANY-LANG or email today!

In the wake of the recent federal health care regulations that went into effect on September 23rd, 2010, it's now more critical than ever to make sure that client health care information is distributed clearly and in a timely fashion.  

As more people become eligible for health care under the new laws, health care organizations and insurance providers will find that they are faced with greater challenges regarding language access. And as these reforms become part of our legal fabric, new and updated information must be prepared and distributed to everyone--proficient  English speakers, non-English speakers and  limited English speakers alike. 

How Can Avantpage help?

Avantpage has highly qualified translation teams in place consisting of certified linguists who are trained specialists in threshold languages including Arabic, Armenian, Cambodian (Khmer), Chinese, Farsi, Hmong, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese. We offer the most competitive pricing in the translation industry, and our AvantFlow online translation management system, experienced project managers, translation memory tools, and experienced linguistic teams ensure that our translation services consistently exceed industry standards and requirements. 

To meet increased workloads due to the health care regulations, Avantpage has recently ramped up our translation capacities, improved processing volume and timelines, and enhanced our quality control and service abilities. Whatever our clients' needs, we will deliver--swiftly, accurately and within budgetary constraints.

Questions, confusion and misunderstandings are bound to be common offshoots of these sweeping regulatory changes. It's critical that you have procedures in place - including accurate, high-quality translation services -to help alleviate frustration and ensure that your clients understand the wording of these changes, how they will be affected, and the timing of all the different reforms. Written materials, websites and electronic correspondence must all be kept current, reflecting new information as it is made available by the government.

We're Committed to Keeping You Informed

Avantpage is scheduled to attend a number of important conferences that will address these latest issues. 

• October 18 - 20: we will be attending the 25th Annual California Association of Health Plans Conference in Indian Wells, CA. 
• October 18  - 21: our Avantpage representatives will be exhibiting at DiversityRx 2010: The Seventh National Conference on Quality Health Care for Culturally Diverse Populations, in Baltimore, MD.
• December 6-7: we will be exhibiting at the Industry Collaboration Effort, Inc. Annual Conference 2010 in San Francisco, CA.

Please stop by and visit us at any of these conferences if you're available. We'd love to meet with you, and outline what we're doing to keep our clients informed of these critical developments in the health care field. We plan to report back with our impressions, observations and perspectives after these shows, so we will be in contact with you then.

Our friend, Carolyn Wang Kong, MPH, MPP, Practice Leader, Language Access, Northern California Diversity, Kaiser Permanente, will be participating in a noon-time panel presentation on September 24th at the Commonwealth Club of California. 

The topic of discussion is Cross-Cultural Health Care: Caring in All Languages. The event will address how doctors and patients can overcome the language barriers to enable and enhance access to health care. Come hear how technology is helping doctors and patients communicate through cyberspace.

Kaiser Permanente Northern California has done excellent work in this area, and we're sure Carolyn Wang Kong and the rest of the panel will present an interesting and engaging hour. The event is underwritten by the California Wellness Foundation.

For tickets, go to www.commonwealthclub.org or call (415) 597-6705.

Location:
The Commonwealth Club, San Francisco Club Office
595 Market Street, 2nd floor SF, CA 94105

Time:
11:30 a.m. check-in; Noon program

Cost:
MEMBERS FREE, $20 non-members, $7 students (with valid ID)

Avantpage just returned from the CPEHN conference in Los Angeles. The theme was one of celebration--a look back, celebrate accomplishments and look forward to continuing challenges and what can be done.  The event was sponsored by the California Endowment.

The conference was attended by many different organizations from across the U.S.: community-centered groups and other not-for-profits, to publically held companies and federal government agencies.
 
Ellen Wu, CPEHN Executive Director, opened the plenary with a look at two scenarios for 2015. The first was a look back to today; the right moment and convergence of opportunities that effectively addressed health care disparity.

The second scenario was a "wasted opportunity."  The message: Don't mistake activity for achievement. Health care reform enacted in 2009 was insurance reform but did not address improvement in inequity.  How we work, whatever the accomplishments over the next five years will determine which scenario we have in 2015.
 
Some points made during workshops:

• Diversity of the total U.S. population is not reflected in the makeup of the workforce.  What does that hold in store for employers?
• 2 ½% of medical liability cases involve language issues.
• Most organizations need multiple modes of language services.
  

Overall, this was a great experience and we thank CPEHN for hosting this discussion--we were glad to be a part of it!  We'd love to talk more and share additional insights. Call or email me today and let's continue the discussion!

Michael Lattif, VP Business Development

201.567.4351 | 530.750.2040 ext 7 | cell 201.424.8838

Avantpage is pleased to join the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network (CPEHN), a multicultural health advocacy organization, at their event next week: Building Quality and Equitable Health Care Systems.

Sponsored by The California Endowment, this convening is an important opportunity to celebrate and share with one another our advances in eliminating health disparities through language access, cultural competency, and workforce diversity, and to work together to move the field forward, especially with the recent passage of national health reform.

If you're in Los Angeles June 6-9, consider joining this important meeting. Avantpage will report back after the event with our impressions--we're committed to staying abreast of all changes in policy as it relates to translation and keeping our clients informed!